CFL Light Tutorial

[G-Dog]

No problem Teach

The nice thing about CFLs is you can add them as you go.


I have a hamper I use with only 56 watts to keep mothers alive and make clones. In my grow I put lights anyplace and every place I need them. If I see an area that is not getting enough light I just add more. Y sockets are great for taking a single socket and making two. You can make reflectors out of aluminum turkey pans or just about anything you can think of. Use white boards or foamcore to reflect as much light back in as you can. The only thing that will limit your light output is your own creativity. You have about 1/4 the heat of a HID to remove, and although that may seem like it is not so bad that does not mean you do not have to remove it. Most of your heat can be taken care of with fans though, and there is a savings there compared to AC.

Be safe and just put as much light into your plants as you need. Any place where a bud forms you need to give them light.

 

[G-Dog]

Boy if you had some links that would be great! The only part about wiring multiple sockets to one plug, as he has it here, for me is not knowing how to wire.

There really isn't that much clear info on this topic online..so far as I've found. I would love to get a clearer picture on how to wire all 8 or 10 sockets into one plug inside of the pvc. (if that's safe)

If you are not comfortable doing basic wiring don't do it. You have to have a friend that knows something about it. If you ask the right questions in Google you will find everything though. Just make sure you get several answers to a single question until you are sure enough that you understand what you are doing and do not make a fatal mistake. I have been playing with electricity since I was a little boy, so it is second nature. It is hard for me to imagine everyone not knowing how to do it. I am a second generation engineer btw.

 

[Giantsfan24]

No problem Teach

The nice thing about CFLs is you can add them as you go.


I have a hamper I use with only 56 watts to keep mothers alive and make clones. In my grow I put lights anyplace and every place I need them. If I see an area that is not getting enough light I just add more. Y sockets are great for taking a single socket and making two. You can make reflectors out of aluminum turkey pans or just about anything you can think of. Use white boards or foamcore to reflect as much light back in as you can. The only thing that will limit your light output is your own creativity. You have about 1/4 the heat of a HID to remove, and although that may seem like it is not so bad that does not mean you do not have to remove it. Most of your heat can be taken care of with fans though, and there is a savings there compared to AC.

Be safe and just put as much light into your plants as you need. Any place where a bud forms you need to give them light.

G D ..do you think the heat coming from the CFL's would be enough to keep the temp where it needs to be if the temp outside the box was around 40 degrees?

I'm going to insulate the interior of the box but I'm concerned the temp may get too low in the winter. Was thinking of running the lights on at night and off during the day when it's warmer then visa versa in the summer..

 

[G-Dog]

G D ..do you think the heat coming from the CFL's would be enough to keep the temp where it needs to be if the temp outside the box was around 40 degrees?

I'm going to insulate the interior of the box but I'm concerned the temp may get too low in the winter. Was thinking of running the lights on at night and off during the day when it's warmer then visa versa in the summer..

In one grow cabinet I had with poor ventilation and 6 23 watt CFLs I believe it added about 20 degrees to the ambient temperature. It as a space about 30 inches tall, 30 inches wide and 24 inches deep.

Your ideas of lighting at night and off during the day are great as long as you do not have any light leaks.

 

[Setting Sun]

Boy if you had some links that would be great! The only part about wiring multiple sockets to one plug, as he has it here, for me is not knowing how to wire.

There really isn't that much clear info on this topic online..so far as I've found. I would love to get a clearer picture on how to wire all 8 or 10 sockets into one plug inside of the pvc. (if that's safe)

Here's a really simple one that you don't have to know much wiring at all to build.

You could make it longer and add another two bulbs, or you could make multiple units and light up your space very nicely.


YouTube - How To Build a CFL Grow Light Fixture - CHEAP!

 

[Giantsfan24]

You could make it longer and add another two bulbs, or you could make multiple units and light up your space very nicely.


I watched that last night! The only thing it doesn't cover is wiring multiple sockets into one plug. Although I could live without doing that, it would make things cleaner with fewer wires inside the box to manage.

Thanks!

 

[G-Dog]

You could make it longer and add another two bulbs, or you could make multiple units and light up your space very nicely.


I watched that last night! The only thing it doesn't cover is wiring multiple sockets into one plug. Although I could live without doing that, it would make things cleaner with fewer wires inside the box to manage.

Thanks!

Something you could do until you figure out the wiring is to use a power strip.

 

[Giantsfan24]

G D ... You're up early bro!

What about t5 lighting? Is that better than CFL's?

 

[Setting Sun]

You could make it longer and add another two bulbs, or you could make multiple units and light up your space very nicely.


I watched that last night! The only thing it doesn't cover is wiring multiple sockets into one plug. Although I could live without doing that, it would make things cleaner with fewer wires inside the box to manage.

Thanks!

With multiple sockets, you just want to twist all the white wires together and all the black wires together, and then connect each twisted bundle to your two-wire power cord, white bundle to one side, and black bundle to the other.

You can do all of this with "wire nuts", which you twist onto the wires you twisted together, or you can solder and tape them, or even better, seal the connections with some heat shrink, if you want a neater result.



For DIY CFL stuff, you want to use parallel wiring, which is what you have when you join all the white wires and all the black wires from multiple sockets.

here's a good example of series versus parallel wiring:

How to Wire a Circuit "In Parallel"

 

[Giantsfan24]

Awesome S e t t i n g, thanks for that! Seems much easier than I make it out to be but then, isn't everything!

 

[G-Dog]

Awesome S e t t i n g, thanks for that! Seems much easier than I make it out to be but then, isn't everything!

It is not hard, but make sure you really do know what you are doing. You could kill yourself or others if you make a mistake. Just take it serious. To add to what setting said, your white wire, neutral, should be connected to the larger of the two prongs on the plug and make sure you use a safety ground too.

 

[Setting Sun]

Thank you for adding that G-Dog, I'd give you some more rep but must spread my love first

 

[G-Dog]

it's cool Setting. I know where your heart is. I want to help people too. I have been in electrical engineering for 30 years and want to help. However, it is not my site or my liability if something can go wrong. I have seen a lot of professionals screw up minor things for one reason or another and when you post on a message board that can be accessed by google you have the risk of other people reading what we post and maybe messing it up. Too much information is never enough sometimes.

 

[G-Dog]

Thank you for adding that G-Dog, I'd give you some more rep but must spread my love first

Light fixtures that do not have a safety ground probably do not have metal enclosures or they are double insulated. With the water/wet earth that is present in a grow room I believe that anything metal needs to be grounded with a safety ground and many on this site believe should be protected with a GFI (Ground Fault Interrupt).

As for polarity in a circuit, that is not the reason to insure that the neutral is in the right place. It has to do with the way the rest of the household wire is.

I have seen what happens when people on these sites take electrical installations for granted and I try my hardest to not let a fight break out. It is not to insult anyone's intelligence or anything. When you give advice on the internet about something that is potentially deadly you have to be very careful.

 

[Setting Sun]

I also believe safety should come before anything else when messing with stuff that can kill you, so I appreciate your corrections, and I would encourage folks to heed G-Dog's advice on wiring.

I'm going to have my recent posts deleted because I was irresponsible, and I apologize to everyone for that.

The last thing I would want to happen is for anyone to get hurt or worse.

thanks bro

 

[teachmeurways]

No problem Teach

The nice thing about CFLs is you can add them as you go.


I have a hamper I use with only 56 watts to keep mothers alive and make clones. In my grow I put lights anyplace and every place I need them. If I see an area that is not getting enough light I just add more. Y sockets are great for taking a single socket and making two. You can make reflectors out of aluminum turkey pans or just about anything you can think of. Use white boards or foamcore to reflect as much light back in as you can. The only thing that will limit your light output is your own creativity. You have about 1/4 the heat of a HID to remove, and although that may seem like it is not so bad that does not mean you do not have to remove it. Most of your heat can be taken care of with fans though, and there is a savings there compared to AC.

Be safe and just put as much light into your plants as you need. Any place where a bud forms you need to give them light.

thanks for the tip. i did end up starting my grow last night. my spot is a litttle space in the corner of my closet about 1 1/2 by 1/2 feet and about 5 ft tall. i got 4 cfl's (100 watt "equivalents", 5000 k's, 1750 lumens each), 2 bulbs each in 2 reflectors with Y sockets hanging from 2 clothing hangars (pretty ghetto, but i meant it when i said a very poor mans grow haha). the space has 3 walls and i closed the opening side over with aluminum foil. i used roots organic soil for my girl and plan on using osmocote for nutes in about 2 weeks. i only plan on growing her around maybe 3 ft before i start the budding so i think my set up should be good.

 

[Setting Sun]

Here's a really good solution if you don't mind spending a little, want to use multiple CFL bulbs, not wire anything, and have a very bright light.

I have one of these and with three Y adapaters and four 23w bulbs, it's very bright and throws a very nice even beam.

Nuvo 76-284 1 Light 16" Pendant Warehouse Shade Black

 

[teachmeurways]

very nice i like it. something i would definitely not mind investing in. thanks setting sun

 

[G-Dog]

thanks for the tip. i did end up starting my grow last night. my spot is a litttle space in the corner of my closet about 1 1/2 by 1/2 feet and about 5 ft tall. i got 4 cfl's (100 watt "equivalents", 5000 k's, 1750 lumens each), 2 bulbs each in 2 reflectors with Y sockets hanging from 2 clothing hangars (pretty ghetto, but i meant it when i said a very poor mans grow haha). the space has 3 walls and i closed the opening side over with aluminum foil. i used roots organic soil for my girl and plan on using osmocote for nutes in about 2 weeks. i only plan on growing her around maybe 3 ft before i start the budding so i think my set up should be good.

Nothing wrong with being ghetto. It keeps the price per oz less. I am a huge fan of ghetto or DIY. I have seen, but never ventured in, a DIY section on the site.

I believe a 3 foot plant, depending on how bushy it is will need about 12 lights.

Y adapters are great for CFLs. I seen one fellow put 2 Y adapter into a Y adapter. I am not sure about how safe that is yet, but the total wattage going to be additive for all 4 bulbs into one socket (probably 100 watts, and depending on the maximum wattage of the socket that should be okay).

Okay here is some advice... Read the maximum wattage of the fixtures you use. Although CFLs are low wattage, having a lot of them does add wattage. So (4) 23 watt bulbs makes close to 100 watts.


When you check your grow put your hands on or around the various places around the fixtures and feel for heat build up. A bad connection can get hot.

Be creative with reflectors. I have gotten 22"x 36" foamcore (stiff white paper boards) at Wallys for a couple bucks each. You can cut them, duct tape them, put computer fans on them etc. Easy to work with and cheap. I am a huge fan of foamcore, CFLs and duct tape. I have made grow boxes composed completely from foamcore boards taped together. Flat white surfaces reflect light really nice and even. Foil crumples and reflects it in a less even way (hot spots). Not a bad thing, just harder to control. Foamcore doesn't tear like foil. Foamcore dissipates heat better than foil. Foamcore doesn't conduct electricity. Foamcore can burn or catch fire, so be aware of that.

 

[Setting Sun]

International Lighting 4115-30 1 Light Warehouse Shade Pendant White


The first one I posted is rated for 100w. The one aboves cheaper and rated for 150w.

probably a very good idea to drill about four 1/2" holes near the top for ventilation, even if you stay within the recommended wattage.

I've yet to drill the ventilation holes, because I haven't had it in any small enclosed grow spaces and it doesn't get hot with the four 23w bulbs, but it would definitely help cool it in a smaller grow space, especially if you set a fan to blow up at it, which is a good idea with just about any light.

The reflector works extremely well because the bulbs, even with the Y adapters, don't hang down below the edge of the reflector, so all of the light is captured and focused downwards.

After shipping charges, it's cheaper on Amazon. I just bought another one for $33 with free shipping.